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THE OFFICIAL RUTGERS-PENN STATE PREDICTION THREAD

Neutralize or get Stevens into foul trouble: 77-70 (RU)
Do not do that, 64-75(PSU)
 
I can't see RU winning without Geo. Hope I'm wrong. PSU 74-RU 68
 
Much like last game I will go with 3 keys to the game (which is me being superstitious that it led to a win).

1. First like last time, limit turnovers & live ball ones where TTFP can get out in transition for easy buckets. They average 81ppg and if we can limit those and get into our half court defense, this will help play the game we want to play.
2. Avoid picking up cheap fouls. We cannot afford to have any foul trouble early on in the game whether it come from the guards or the bigs. I will say that Shaq & Douc will have to pick up some quality minutes in there to keep Miles fresh & avoid said foul issues.
3. Keep them out of the paint & limit 2nd chance points. Besides Mich St this will be the best rebounding team we have faced so we need to clean up the glass & limit the extra opportunities. I like our chances if we can force them to shoot 3s and contest as they shoot 32% from 3.

Bonus: Do not settle for late 3s and take them in the rhythm of the offense. We saw at Nebraska that Harper's first 2 3s were within the flow and same goes for Caleb.

No prediction with points but with the RAC crowd behind them & without Geo, I feel like they will lock down on D, we will get a game from someone we do not expect (maybe Tez driving or Yeboah) and we win a close one. The Nation goes on further notice that this team is for real.
 
Not picking opponents in the RAC this year.

RU 75
PSU 73

7,854 at the "sold out" RAC - think some of the secondary market tix go unclaimed because of bad weather scheduled to hit right at rush hour tomorrow.
 
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This one is tough to call, as it looks evenly matched with RU being at home.

Carter has to step up and find his inner beast mode when he’s giving Myles a breather.

Our usual rebounding edge will be neutralized but they’re not great from deep and we can turn them over.

Calling this for RU in a close one: 69-68.
 
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Not picking opponents in the RAC this year.

RU 75
PSU 73

7,854 at the "sold out" RAC - think some of the secondary market tix go unclaimed because of bad weather scheduled to hit right at rush hour tomorrow.
Bad weather. Lol.
 
Both teams coming into the game on 5 game win streaks, sitting up as a classic. In my opinion toughest of the next 7 games as Penn State has won this year even when they have not played great or shot great from the field. They play defense the closest to our level, and have grinder for a few tough wins against Alabama and Iowa , one at home and one at the Palestra. Home court lockdown is crucial to our tourney hopes , so I have it 71-70 Rutgers .
 
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PSU has 2 road games, win @ #59 G'town 81-66 and loss @ #11 OSU 74-106, other loss neutral to #68 Ole Miss 72-74. Q1 3-1 Q2 3-1. Only one time they scored under 70 against #57 Yale W 58-56 on neutral, 53rd in defense scoring 62.6 pts/gm. We are 16th 59.6.

Yale 9th FG% D, 23rd 2pt% D, 15th 3pt% D
RU 17th FG% D, 14th 2pt% D, 113th 3pt% D
PSU 57th FG% D, 15th 2pt% D, 272nd 3pt% D

PSU shoots the same % on 3s that we give up 31%.
RU shoots the 3s at 30% but PSU D is 35% on 3s.

Last 5 games(Wisc-33.5%, SHU-34.9, Laf-38.5, Cald-?, NU-33.1)
35 for 122 28.7 from 3, only Wisc shot better than avg. 8 for 23 34.8%

Time for 2nd game under 70

RU 71 PSU 64
 
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Not picking opponents in the RAC this year.

RU 75
PSU 73

7,854 at the "sold out" RAC - think some of the secondary market tix go unclaimed because of bad weather scheduled to hit right at rush hour tomorrow.

What "bad weather" are you talking about? At worst, there will be some sprinkles or perhaps light, non-accumulating snow, which shouldn't affect anything, especially a game played indoors.
 
Biggest factor, IMO, in this game will be whether Myles stays out of foul trouble. We are so much better with him on the floor than not and he's up against a pretty big man in Watkins, plus Stevens is good around the hoop and draws fouls. Obviously, many other factors, but that's an important one. I'm not much of a prediction guy, but I see this one going down to the wire and hopefully we're on the right side of the final score. Can't wait.
 
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Biggest factor, IMO, in this game will be whether Myles stays out of foul trouble. We are so much better with him on the floor than not and he's up against a pretty big man in Watkins, plus Stevens is good around the hoop and draws fouls. Obviously, many other factors, but that's an important one. I'm not much of a prediction guy, but I see this one going down to the wire and hopefully we're on the right side of the final score. Can't wait.
Staying out of foul trouble, not getting off to a slow start like last year, and multiple Rutgers players scoring in double digits are the keys to winning.Teams like Penn State and Iowa are bad match ups because they usually score over 75 points.
 
Don't know why, but I have a feeling we are going to give them a beating.

RU 76
PSU 60
 
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No predictions for me this season, there are too many young players still with upside in the B1G, especially at Rutgers. Northwestern, Michigan, Ohio State, Indiana and Minnesota.

Let's just rock the RAC and get this place bouncing from start to finish and that will be the difference in January overall.
 
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Doreen and Claire will be in Section 105 courtesy of the fellas at the Hillsborough Deli.
 
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I didn't watch the game, but judging by statline Watkins had one of his "disengaged" games vs Iowa. Huge factor is which Big Mike comes out tomorrow.
 
The Rutgers fan in me expects a let down. PSU 63- RU 55. But that galvanizes the team moving forward...
 
Good guys win 72-70 as Myles Johnson gets redemption for last years heartbreaker and wins it on a last second put back that sends the State Penn team and cult fans back to crappy valley with a BIg L!
 
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Staying out of foul trouble, not getting off to a slow start like last year, and multiple Rutgers players scoring in double digits are the keys to winning.Teams like Penn State and Iowa are bad match ups because they usually score over 75 points.
Yeah, Iowa is a terrible matchup for us, except the last time we played them we blew them out in their own building despite them being ranked. You consistently have no idea what you're talking about
 
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